We have a Postgres database that is so huge(scanned images are stored inside the database) that any Pgdump configuration I tried wouldn't finish. After talking with the software vendor it was decided that a nightly pgdump would be done excluding the table with the images in it. Then once a week the images would be backed up by stopping the server, tar & zipping the whole folder where the database resided. The database and the backup lived on different volumes but all on the same SAN. The SAN failed one afternoon and completely died the next AM. We were left with nothing. All the drives were collected and sent to a data recovery specialist. I am fairly certain that the tar/zip that was created of the database folder is corrupt because during that couple hour window between the first drive failure the ultimate third drive failure. I checked out the backup and it had some issues indicating corruption.
We purchased and configured a new SAN unit and have volumes created for the Postgres Database that duplicate what the old SAN looked like. So when(I have to think when and not IF) I get the data back, can I just copy the old postgres database folder contents to the new location and start the service back up?
I've contacted the software vendor and they said...."We don't have a postgres expert on staff, so you are sort of on your own with that"
